1 The History of Bock Beer

OHNE EINBECK GÄBS REIN BOCKBIER

“Without Einbeck, there would be no Bock Beer”—

advertising slogan for Einbecker Brauhaus AG, the last remaining brewery in Einbeck.

The origins of this story are widely perceived to be in the small town of Einbeck, located in what is today the northern German state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen). We first hear about the rise of Einbeck, or Eimbeck, or Eimbock, as documents of the time have variously spelled it, in the 13th century, during the Middle Ages.

The medieval period was a time of social fragmentation and strife. After the fall of the Roman Empire, feudalism became the political rule. Europe was shattered into many small kingdoms and duchies. Political power was in constant flux between the Papacy, the German Emperor (heir to the Holy Roman Empire), kings, princes, dukes (German as well as French, Danish, Italian, and Swedish), and free cities. Whenever it appeared that one political force would reach a position of dominance, one or more of the others would cooperate just long enough to tear it back down.

Free cities evolved as a result of placing their support behind some other faction, who, upon winning a battle, granted them a charter. They became regional centers of commerce, for that was their strength. They were most prevalent at the further reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, where the Pope or the German Emperor had less influence.

Bremen, Lübeck, and Hamburg were perhaps the largest of the free cities in the North. The former two, located on either side of the Danish peninsula, over time developed a brisk merchant trade between them, connecting the Baltic with the North seas. However, as the Danes proved fierce raiders, these merchants united to protect the road between them. This confederation, or hanse, grew into a large loosely held trading association known as the Hanseatic League.

The League was formed to protect each city’s economic interests. Together they grew to control all trade through the North and Baltic seas. The league occasionally raised armies and navies to fight off invaders, subdue pirates, or take other lands into their control. They built trade houses in a number of foreign trading ports, and dealt with foreign governments to secure exclusive trading rights. At its height the League included over 80 cities, all of them led by the city of Lübeck.

One of the specialties of many of the Hansa cities was their beers, which were highly regarded, commanding a premium price far and wide.

The freedom to brew for sale was not a widespread privilege in medieval times. The church or nobility reserved this right to themselves, granting it to others only when it suited them. Usually such a grant was made when the authorities grew tired or unable to brew themselves, and then only in exchange for the taxes that could be raised by dint of the brewer’s craft.

Whenever the right to brew was granted to a city, a brewers’ guild would spring up to regulate what was brewed, and when, and how much was to be made by each brewer. In times of poor harvest (and therefore, high priced grain), the guild might specify how much the brewer could dilute the product. Guilds would often have a strong say in what ingredients were used and how the brewer made his beer. While this was an infringement, the guilds generally prevented the government from involving itself in the brewers’ business by participating in city politics.

This was the typical state of affairs in the Hansa cities. It was good business: the taxes made the nobles, the church, or the cities rich, while the guilds made the brewers rich.

Each city’s beer had its own character and was praised for its features. Historic records show that some beers were well regarded for their nutritional character, others for medicinal purposes, and note was taken of each beer’s alcoholic strength.

It is not surprising to find that in those days beer was considered both food and medicine, and not just a social drink. With the brewing materials and methods of the time, the beer was usually cloudy and sweet. This came from the high protein and starch levels carried over from unmalted grains and poorly mashed and lautered malts. From such a drink substantial food value in the form of carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins was available in an easily assimilable form. It was embraced for its healthy qualities and it raised the spirits—all the same attributes as chicken soup, and it also kept better.

BIERSTADT EINBECK*

*Text appearing on three oak casks that grace the entrance to the city of Einbeck.

Einbeck began as an estate held by nobles living in the great Hansa city of Hamburg. It grew to a small town, and eventually was given a charter as a city sometime between 1203 and 1256. By then, Einbeck had grown large enough to join the League.⁶

Records of hop cultivation in Germany date from 822 AD, but the first written mention of their being added to beer does not occur until the publication of Saint Hildegard von Bingen’s Physica Sacra (1150–1160).

Gruit, a generic term for proprietary combinations of bittering and flavoring herbs, was commonly used in beer to cut the sweet flavor and add medicinal value. Such mixtures might include ash leaves, myrtle bark, rosemary, or sweet gale. Many a bishopric was floated on the taxes obtained, and many families became rich on the profits from a successful gruit recipe held close to the vest. Even today the recipes for a number of patent cordials and soft drinks, such as Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper, are closely held secrets and continue to reap profits for their owners.

Einbeck had the fortune to be founded in a center of hop gardening just when hop usage was first blossoming in Germany, and in a place not under the control of the Church. This latter aspect meant that there was no taxing authority to demand the use of gruit, which, combined with the ready supply of fresh hops, undoubtedly aided the flavor of the Einbeck product. It may also have helped the beer to remain stable throughout the time it took to transport it.

Over the next century, Einbeck became a renowned brewing center, outstripping the fame of its larger neighbors in the League. By 1385, there were 600 private houses brewing Einbecker beer within the city. The city’s mayor was also its chief brewmaster. The citizen-brewers worked in a cooperative fashion, with the brewmaster producing a wort for each of them, and they in turn tending to the fermentation.7 The city subsequently purchased the output from the private houses, blended the beer, and then warehoused and brokered the beer. The trademark crowned-E device was owned by the city; none of the private brewers were allowed to use it separately.

Einbeck’s brewing prowess grew to the point that its beer was exported across the Baltic Sea to Russia, Sweden, and Denmark; and across the North Sea to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and England. From there, it was also carried by Venetian boats into the Mediterranean. Overland, it was transported throughout the Holy Roman Empire. It is written that Einbecker beer was exported as far away as Jerusalem. Many of the Hansa port cities had depots specifically constructed for Einbecker beer, so regular and frequent was the trade.

A writer of the time, Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, in 1613 cataloged a list of the exact attributes of many of the Hansa cities’ beers, their flavors, aromas, and uses. This was how he described Einbeck’s beer: “thin, subtle, clear, of bitter taste, has a pleasant acidity on the tongue, and many other good qualities.”⁶

Other records indicate that the famous Einbecker beer was composed of one-third wheat malt and two-thirds barley malt, all of the palest color available. It was clearly brewed as an ale, but only during the winter (from St. Martin’s Day at the end of September through the first of May), so that it may have been lagered, or cold conditioned, as Alt beer is today. Such a process would certainly add to the beer’s stability.

Einbeck maintained its position as a premier brewing center through the 14th and 15th centuries. Its beer grew in fame, and was frequently a part of lavish gifts. Martin Luther received a present of Einbecker beer on the occasion of his wedding.8 He was also sustained at the Diet of Worms in 1521 on a cask given to him by Duke Erich of Brunswick, since he had given up solid food for Lent. His success at that ordeal, combined with his personal endorsement of the beer, added to the fame of Einbeck.

Early in the 17th century, however, the Thirty Years’ War, combined with the appearance of other free cities in Holland and Poland, the increasingly hostile Danish and Swedish Kingdoms, and the rise of Prussia, eventually brought down the Hanseatic League, and Einbeck with it. The northern trade routes, so long monopolized by the League through its ports, were disrupted, and the financial might of the cities was drained. In 1669, only Lübeck, Bremen, and Hanover were left to officially dissolve the League.

With the demise of the League, Einbeck’s exports dropped and distribution was confined to Northern Germany. In 1650, a fire wiped out much of Einbeck, including its brewery. A new brewery was constructed, but it burned down as well, and was eventually replaced by two separate breweries. Over time, these came into private hands and became competing operations. In the 1920s they merged to form Einbecker Brauhaus, which is now the only brewing concern in Einbeck. Since 1972 it has been a satellite in the Dortmunder Union-Schultheiß AG system.7 Today it produces over 500,000 barrels (600,000 hL) of beer, and nearly a quarter of that output is the strong beer that made Einbeck famous.

MEANWHILE, IN MUNICH . . .

While the world’s oldest continuously operating brewery is Weihenstephan in Bavaria, brewing was not nearly so advanced in the South. Weihenstephan was founded as early as 1040, but commercial brewing took another 200 years to start, and it was the middle of the 14th century before it began to become important.

Bavaria knew of the fame and flavor of the beers from the north, as they were brought overland to the Munich nobility at the end of the 15th century.⁹ They were very well received and may have inspired the famous Reinheitsgebot, or Beer Purity Law, which began as a local Munich ordinance in 1487. The law was enlarged to cover all of Bavaria in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV, as an attempt to increase the quality of the local beer. At this time, official beer tasters were appointed. Their duty was to verify the quality of each brewer’s product, thrice per week in the summer and twice in the winter.

For years local brewing talents continued to be meager. In an effort to produce a reasonable drink, Duke Ludwig X brought a Brunswick brewmaster to Munich in 1540 for the express purpose of reproducing the strong beer of the North.10 Also in 1540, Einbeck set up a depot in Landshut, a short day’s journey from Munich, and five years later, another in Munich itself.⁹ Eventually, under the reign of Wilhelm V, the royal court brewery—the Hofbräuhaus München—was constructed and completed on All Saints’ Day, 1589.

In the beginning of the 17th century, with the decline of the Hanseatic League already well under way, Munich breweries began to produce credible imitations of the northern beers. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation created deep divisions between the Catholic south and Protestant north, and that, combined with the high cost of overland transportation, caused Bavaria to be even more isolated from the North than in the previous century. With little hope of obtaining the imported beers, the Münchners were forced to make their own.

At the time, Munich made two general styles of beer, Braunbier and Weißbier. Braunbier was an all-barley malt beer, brown with red highlights. The original Hofbräuhaus became known as the Old Brown Brewery and a second brewery was built in 1602, called the White Brewery, reflecting which types of beer were made in each. Weißbier was a sour wheat beer that today we more closely associate with Berlin.

In 1612, Duke Maximillian I persuaded the brewmaster of Einbeck, Elias Pichler, to come to Munich.11,12 Once in Munich, the brewmaster was not allowed to leave the town, so valuable were his skills considered.¹² Two years later, in 1614, the Hofbräuhaus introduced its version of the Einbecker beer, brewed at the Brown Brewery. In 1638 the strong beer was released to the general public. It was instantly popular, and required the brewery to be expanded several times to make up for the displaced brown beer production.

A BEER BY ANY OTHER NAME

The careful reader may have noticed that this narrative has so far refrained from actually using the term Bock beer. This is because there are a number of different theories about its origin.

One theory asserts that the beer was only produced under the sign of Capricorn the goat—Bock being the German word for billy-goat—in late December and January. This seems least credible since the beer was produced whenever feasible.

Another links an old German word, Pogkmedt, meaning mead, to the Bock beer that rivaled it in strength.¹³ From there, through corruption and contraction of pronunciation, came Bock.

The most widely accepted belief is that the name comes from the corruption of the Einbeck name. In the Bavarian dialect of German, called Bayrische, the locally produced imitation of the fine beer imported from the North was called Ainpoeckische.11,9 The Bavarian predilection for the hard ‘P’ sound in preference to the softer ‘B’ extended to the word beer as well, consequently known as “Pier” (one can see it spelled as “Pier” in the text of the Reinheitsgebot). We may reasonably believe that this was shortened to Poeckishe Pier or just Poeckpier (Bock beer).

A more fanciful explanation for the name, and the one I enjoy most as a cautionary tale on the dangers of drinking to excess, is this one from One Hundred Years of Brewing:¹⁴

“There is probably no fact, in connection with the history of brewing, about which more has been written and a greater number of explanations offered than as to the origin of Bock-beer. One of the latest and best gives the honor to a medieval knight of Brunswick, who, having cast aspersions upon the beer offered him by Duke Christoph of Bavaria, was challenged by the enraged brewmaster to a formal drinking bout. Upon the day of the contest, the castle of the Bavarian lord was beautifully decorated and the ladies of the court were present in great numbers to witness the outcome. Suddenly the band, which had been discoursing martial airs, stopped, and a keg of Brunswick beer and one of Bavaria were placed side by side. The brewmaster drank from the Brunswick keg and the Brunswick knight from that of Bavaria, two immense vessels, holding more than two gallons each, being the bumpers. Each drained his gigantic cup, the gentleman from Brunswick still making sarcastic remarks about the strength of the court beer of Munich.

“The brewmaster, however, was confident that his opponent would finally succumb, despite his bold front, and, as he handed him the second cup, said: ‘Now we will empty another to your health, and, in half an hour, the one who can thread a needle while standing on one foot, shall be declared the winner.’

“When the vessels had been again emptied, a maid was sent for needles and thread and, returning, carelessly left open the gate of the court-yard. At the very moment that each contestant was preparing to stand on one leg and attempt his task, a pet goat frisked into the yard. The Bavarian brewmaster succeeded in threading his needle, while the Brunswick knight dropped his three times and concluded by falling and rolling on the pavement, claiming that the ‘Bock’ had thrown him. Duke Christoph and his court were convulsed with laughter, remarking, ‘The Bock that threw you over was brewed by me.’”

Some basis in fact for this story can be sought in history, because Brunswick is a Saxon neighbor of Einbeck, and the Duke’s daughter married a knight from Brunswick in a ceremony held in Munich. Or perhaps this story is merely an allegory of the larger rivalry between the North and the South, the Hohenzollern and the Wittelsbach, the Protestant and the Catholic, the pale beer and the brown.

Regardless of how the Bock name was chosen, one thing is certain: it was chosen in Munich. As the brown beer was Munich’s staple malt beer, Bock beer was founded on this base.

THE ORIGINS OF DOPPELBOCK

While Bock beer originated in northern Germany and migrated south, Doppelbock is a home-grown style. It sprang not from commercial brewing as with Einbeck, but from the monastic brewers for which the city of Munich got its name (München, the native spelling, means “home of the monks”).

While the nobility could afford to purchase the beer they liked, the monks relied on beer to fulfill basic needs. Beer was more than a pleasant drink: it was an important source of potable water and nutrients. Naturally, they took up the art and science of brewing, in an age when such information was difficult to come by.

Followers of St. Francis of Paula came to Munich from Italy during the Counter-Reformation to help maintain Catholicism in Bavaria,^7,8,9 bringing their rites and beliefs, including vegetarianism, with them. The calendar played an important part in daily monastic life, dictating what was brewed. Twice annually Paulaners fasted for extended periods: the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter, and the four weeks of Advent preceding Christmas.

During these fasts, no solid food was allowed. However, liquids were not restricted, including beer. The oft-repeated nickname “liquid bread” was literally true, as the brewers of Paulaner worked hard to brew the most nutritious beer they could for these times. They produced a strong, rich beer that has come down through the ages to us as Salvator, now made in the commercial Paulaner brewery.

As with Bock, there is controversy over the origin of the name Salvator, but the choices are more limited.9 One side claims that the name comes from a phrase in the benediction which asks for the blessings of the Holy Father (“. . . ad sanctum Salvatorem”). This is supported by the fact that the beer hall opened by the brothers during the reign of Duke Albrecht V was named the Salvatorkeller.

Another argument holds that the beer was originally named Saintly Father Beer (Sankt-Vater-Bier) because of the nutrition and joy it provided during the hard times of fasting. After evolving to appeal to the public, who were allowed to buy the beer beginning in 1780,⁸ it gradually changed to the Salvator we know today. The name was definitely fixed by 1850.

This beer evolved naturally along a completely different line from Bock beer. It was the Munich public that began calling the beer a double Bock, noting that it was stronger and more nutritious than even the Hofbräuhaus’ Bock beer. One thing is clear about the name: it was not called a Doppelbock beer until relatively recently.

In the first decade of the 19th century, all of the monasteries were secularized by Napoleon. The Bavarian Wittelsbachs either leased or sold the breweries to private parties and taxed them to raise revenue. The Paulaner brewery came into the hands of the Zacherl family,9 and for much of the 1800s its output was not identified with the Paulaner name, although the reputation of the Salvator beer was widespread.

It began to be imitated by other commercial brewers who were jealous of the fame and envious of the sales of the strong beer. In homage to the original, or perhaps trying to ride Salvator’s coattails, many gave names to their beers that included the -ator suffix.

Since the time of secularization, the purpose for these beers has changed from a necessity to a luxury. The nature of the beer has changed as well. Historical records^{2,15,16,17,18,19,20} show that over the last 150 years the original gravity of Doppelbocks has not changed much, but the final gravity has continually decreased; hence, the alcohol level has increased.

For example, Salvator beer from the 1850s, brewed with an original gravity of 1.074 (18.5 °Plato) had a terminal gravity of 1.034 (8.5 °Plato). This yields an alcohol level of about 4.2 percent w/v (5.3 percent v/v). Today, Salvator, with an identical starting gravity, has an alcohol level of 6.1 percent w/v (7.7 percent v/v).

Also, while the beer was originally devised for use at different, specific times of the year, Doppelbocks in general, and Salvator in particular, are now associated with St. Joseph’s day (the 19th of March).8 On that day, there is a special tapping ceremony for Salvator at Munich’s Frühjahrs-Starkbier-Festes (“spring strong beer fest”), and Doppelbocks are widely drunk into April, when Dunkles (dark) and Helles (pale) Bocks take the baton, which is subsequently passed along on the first of May, when Maibocks come into season.21

Bocks and Doppelbocks are also popular all through the fall, winter and spring, when they provide the extra Gemütlichkeit needed to endure cold, short, gray days.